Young Pride falls to Fairfield in 3rd OT

The problem for Hofstra is it's early in the season. The good news for Hofstra is it's early in the season.

The men's lacrosse team is a relatively green group -- a raw, unfinished product that will be fashioned as the season goes, coach Seth Tierney promised. But for now, lumps will be taken.

Brent Adams scored with 2:07 left in the third overtime, lifting 20th-ranked Fairfield to a 10-9 victory over host Hofstra Tuesday night.

Adams drove from the right, slipped a defender, and fired from about 7 yards out into the right corner to win it for the Stags (3-0).

"We didn't get set up defensively and they kind of caught us off-guard, and [Adams] caught me cheating a little bit," Hofstra goalie Andrew Gvozden said. "It stinks."

Nevertheless, the performance, perhaps, gave a glimpse of Hofstra's potential. After a shaky first quarter, the Pride (1-2) rallied from down 6-3 and, at one point, led 8-6 in the third.

Adrian Sorichetti scored three goals, Torin Varn added two and Ian Braddish had a goal and two assists for Hofstra. Gvozden made 17 saves, including a stop of a point-blank shot with 25 seconds left in regulation.

John Snellman's goal with 4:23 left in the fourth quarter tied it at 9 for Fairfield. He had four goals, Adams had two goals and two assists and Sam Snow scored twice. Charlie Cipriano, a Herricks graduate, made 16 saves.

"We fought and had opportunities to win, but we didn't finish," Tierney said.

Hofstra had beaten the Stags, 8-7, in their meeting last April, during its 13-3 run to the NCAA tournament.

But this group . . . Half the Pride's roster are underclassmen, including 13 freshmen. In addition to graduating several key players, they lost three more unexpectedly, including midfielder Kevin Ford, who announced in September that injuries sustained in a car accident would end his career.

"We have to get older and more game-experienced with a lot of guys, but we stood toe-to-toe with an experienced team,'' Tierney said of Fairfield, which returned 24 players. "That bodes well for our future."

Lance Yapor's goal gave Hofstra its first lead at 7-6 with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter. Sorichetti, who had tied it at 6, rifled one in from 15 yards that put them up two with 3:57 left in the third.

But Eric Warden's goal pulled the Stags within one near the end of the third, preceding a back-and-forth fourth. Adams tied it at 8 with 14:12 remaining, and Yapor scored with 8:00 left to retake the lead, preceding Snellman's bouncer to knot it at 9.

"I thought those guys did a good job fighting back," Gvozden said. "We've got a really young defensive midfield and I think we'll be OK. We'll get better."

The Pride last week were ranked 14th nationally, but dropped from the coaches' poll after Saturday's 12-6 loss to Princeton.

"Not once do you ever hear someone at the end of the year say, 'Hey, where were we ranked in the [third] game?'" said Tierney, whose team visits Harvard at 3 p.m. Saturday. "It's where we'll be at end of the year that matters."